A Dream of Another Life
by LaguNerd
Summary: Memories of a life not his own...a young boy finds comfort in his father's presence.


A/N: First of all, my HC for Laguna is that he was there for Squall and they were separated during the fall of Radiant Garden. Now keep in mind that the only KH I've beaten is 358/2 Days and almost CoM, I only have minimal knowledge of the other games (although I am working my way through BBS atm) Even if this goes against canon though I don't care...Laguna and Squall deserve happiness in at least one lifetime! Also, Squall is maybe...6-8 here? Just so you guys don't get too weirded out by how affectionate he gets at times! Okay, here we go!

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Laguna had just gotten off of late night guard duty at the palace and opened the front door as quietly as he could, no need to wake Squall up this time of night. He began to step carefully through the living room, not wanting to throw a light on, when he froze. He sensed a presence in the room and could faintly see a figure on the couch. Had someone managed to break in? But the door had still been locked when he had come in…

He flipped the light on and stared in confusion at the wide grey blue eyes that stared back at him. "Squall? What are you still doing up….it's… 2 in the morning."

The boy looked away for a moment, biting his lip as if he were unsure of something before bringing his gaze back up to his father. "I…I couldn't sleep…." he bought a hand up to rub at one of his eyes, a sign that despite his words, sleep was trying to lure him in.

Laguna gently sat down on the couch beside Squall, opening his arms up and beckoning him over. Squall immediately crawled into his lap, burrowing into his father's shirt. Rubbing a hand reassuringly up and down the boy's back he softly asked, "What's wrong sweetie?"

Squall was silent for a moment, just relishing his father's presence, before taking a breath and beginning to talk, idly fingering a loose thread on Laguna's shirt while he did so. "I had a….not really a nightmare but…" He licked dry lips, leaning his head on Laguna's shoulder, tucking in under chin like he was wont to do. "It was weird….it was me but…not me. I was older, a teenager I think, and there was a garden there too although it was a lot different than Radiant Garden. I think it was called….Balamb? Or something like that?" He furrowed his brow as he strained to remember details that had seemed so vivid only moments before.

"I was a soldier of some sort….I remember fighting, and training. I used a strange weapon…kinda like that one we saw in that shop the other day!" He grinned up at his father for a moment before frowning as remembered what had unsettled him the most about the dream. "I…remember an orphanage…mom wasn't around" which he had expected, "…but…neither were you." He looked up at Laguna, pain and fear making his eyes bright.

Laguna looked achingly down at his son, tears burning behind his before he suddenly hugged Squall close, burying his face into unruly brown hair. "Oh Squall….I would never, ever leave you, you know that. That was just a nightmare, a really nasty nightmare…"

He continued to rub Squall's back as the boy began to sob into his chest, tears quickly soaking through his shirt. He began to hum an old lullaby that he used to sing to Squall all the time, his off key voice struggling through the notes. Squall didn't seem to mind though as his crying began to subside, a small hand clutching at Laguna's shirt. Squall didn't know why the dream had affected him so much, he was a big boy now, he shouldn't be crawling into his father's lap over some stupid dream. But it had seemed so real….

Squall sat back, a hand coming up to wipe away the vestiges of tears before he spoke quietly. "What if…" he looked imploringly into Laguna's eyes. "What if I saw the future? What if that was …a sign? What if something's gonna come and take you away?"

Laguna choked back a sob himself as he heard Squall speak. Hands came up to clutch Squall's thin shoulders, emerald eyes boring into steel blue conveying how utterly serious he was. "Squall. Nothing could make me leave you. Nothing. " He closed his eyes briefly before he looked back at his son, shaking the shoulders a bit in emphasis. "I…I would die before letting something like that happen!"

Squall looked up at his father with wide eyes at that proclamation. shivering for a moment before burrowing against Laguna again. "But…but what if something _did_ happen?"

Laguna closed his eyes again in pain, leaning down against his son's hair and pressing a kiss against his temple. "Then I would fight even the god of the underworld himself to get back to you. You know how stubborn I can be, do you think even death could keep me away?"

Squall giggled a bit at that, the only one more stubborn than his dad was Squall himself. Eyelids drooping, Squall began to drift off to the sounds of his father's heartbeat. Even though he was still terrified, with Laguna here he knew he would be safe. No matter what happened in the future… as long as he had his father he would be alright...


End file.
